When I think of the trading deadline, I usually think of the 80s band Crowded House. Not because they kick arse and I’ll use any excuse to talk about them, but because two of their best songs epitomize the feelings felt by fans during the trading deadline.

“Don’t Dream, It’s Over.”

As Islander fans, this is what we’ve usually come to see the trading deadline as, regardless of how many times the team has made the playoffs over the past six seasons. It’s the time of the year, to stop dreaming and realize that the season is over. A time to give up on young players because they’ll want too much money in a few years or a fan favorite who could nab the team a pick in an attempt to rebuild. Things were so bad at one point with this team that long time fans still kind of have this hatred or fear of the deadline. That kind of ‘Ah crap, here it comes again approach,’ where regardless of what you do, you can’t stop the inevitable feces storm that is headed your way.

“Know We’re Getting Somewhere.”

This has been a feeling that the fans that were around during the Dynasty understand better than anyone. Bill Torrey made numerous little upgrades before, during and after the run that fortified the team down the stretch and quite possibly put the team over the top. Guys like Butch Goring immediately come to mind when you think of trades that lifted this team up to the next level, but the acquisition of Ryan Smyth last season did as well. If Radek Martinek and Rick DiPietro don’t get hurt down the stretch and Chris Simon doesn’t go bananas, that trade might have been one of the most important in the team’s recent history. But as fate would have it, it was just another rental in a league that was full of them last season.

This season is kind of in between these two sentiments though. It’s obvious the team is depleted on both offense and defense, but they’re so close to making the playoffs that you don’t want to mess with what you have. At the same time, guys like Ruslan Fedotenko, Miroslav Satan and Josef Vasicek have been playing great hockey as of late and while you don’t want to trade them when they’re playing like this, it’s better to trade them while their value is high, rather than get nothing for them at the end of the season.

Snow will be the conductor once again this trading deadline though and only he knows how the song will end. All we can do is wait and see what he presses on the jukebox.